Mage builds
Current as of Patch 2.0.1 (Before The Storm) When choosing a build, one has to decide what they'll be doing as a Mage, and how your preferred playing style fits into that build. In general, something that fits your method will be better than the rank and file builds out there. Feel free to move talent points around to accomplish this. =Cryomancer= Frost Mages will normally have to accept that they can't match the pure damage capabilities of a Fire or even Arcane focused mages. However, the builds are rather forgiving, with spells such as Ice Block and Ice Barrier to improve your survivability. Frost mages are the kings (or queens) of kiting in the Mage world. Most Frost spells will place a debuff on the target known as "chilled", slowing their movement and allowing you to get out of their attack range. The Frostbite talent can improve this to completley freeze their target, completely stopping their foe's movement. +Typical Frost Builds+ Deep Frost - 2/0/49 http://www.wowhead.com/?talent-bc=RbZZVAGfRfxsbot This build is solid and is well suited for PVE and PVP. The Deep Frost set up is particularly versatile with Empowered Frostbolt for increasing damage and Ice Floes for lowering the cooldowns on key survival talents Ice Block, Ice Barrier and Cold Snap. As always points can be moved around to suit playstyle, with removing points in Elemental Precision, Cone of Cold and filling out 5/5 in Winter's Chill for raiding Frost Magi, for example. Balanced PVE - 21/0/30 http://www.wowhead.com/?talent-bc=Rf0E00fzZZVAMcof0oV This build can be heavily modified to perform well in either PVE/RAID or PVP depending on specific talent selections. The linked build above is an example of a RAID build, with Winter's Chill and Arcane Meditation over Shatter and Frostbite. (Because Shatter's use in end gaming instances is very limited and bosses being immune to Frostbite's effects.) Balanced PVP - 17/0/34 http://www.wowhead.com/?talent-bc=Rf0Vf0bZZViGfobxobo Where the build above is PVE and RAID centered, this version of Arc + Frost is particularly suited towards PVP. Improved CounterSpell is helpful versus healing classes (Druids, Priests, Paladins, etc) in conjunction with Shatter/CoC/FireBlast combos to finish your opponent off. Improving Arcane Explosion and Dampen Magic provide small, but worthwhile bonuses in many PVP situations. AoE Grinding - Frost It is generally accepted that Frost is the better Tree for AoE grinding, due to its slow and root capabilities. To create a successful AoE build Artic Reach, PermaFrost and Improved Blizzard are essential. Frostbite is generally skipped over, as it has a tendency to split up your tight pack of mobs that is required for AoE grinding. Ice Barrier also helps you from taking any damage as you round up mobs (even hits from mobs below your level will start to add up). =Pyromancer= Where Frost builds offer control and survivability, Fire builds are the ultimate in damage dealing. From Ignite, which burns your target for additional damage on crits, to Critical Mass and Fire Power which enhance your damage potential, Fire Mages are feared and respected the world (of Warcraft) over. POM Pyro - 21/30/0 http://www.wowhead.com/?talent-bc=kf0E00fzZxgRzf0cox An extremely devestating PVE and PVP build. POM + Pyro combos (especially on ClearCasting procs) provide a great DPS boost in PVE/RAID situations and are downright lethal in PVP scenarios. Combustion - 20/31/0 or 17/34/0 http://www.wowhead.com/?talent-bc=of0Vf0bZxgRzf0coeo While some Mages swear by POM Pyro combos, others opt to swap POM for Combustion which offers a dramatic boost in critical strike chance. The 17/34 build is geared more towards PVP with the 4 points gained from dropping POM + Arcane Meditation, being used to increase survivability (Blazing Speed) or further enhance critical strike chances with Fire spells (as well as a small reduction in mana cost of Fire spells) via the Pyromaniac talent. =Arcanist= With the addition of several new talents in the Arcane tree, it is now viable to play as a heavily Arcane spec'd Mage. From Empowered Arcane Missles, which offers a high damage output at the cost of increased mana, to Mind Mastery (Spell Damage increase) and Spell Power (Critical Strike Damage Bonus), the Arcane Mage has truly arrived. =Elementalist= Very uncommon before the 1.11 Mage Talent review. With the patch came changes that made the "must have" Arcane talents available to all mages. Evocation is now trainable, Arcane Explosion is instant by default, and the “Finishing Move” status of Arcane Missiles was fixed/nerfed (depending on your POV). Several mages abandoned the (element)/Arcane builds and began using Fire/Frost builds that utilized the synergy between the two trees. These builds are very effective in PvP, and can see use in Raids as well. Elementalists may want to inform the raids leader of their build beforehand, since there are unique problems associated with this style in PvE. Many Elementalists tend to focus on one element of the other, often using Fire for DPS and Frost for control and Shatter. A balanced approach offers more versatility, and similar damaging power. It’s also alluded to by its users as requiring more skill, since the “crutches” from the Arcane tree (usually Imp. Counterspell and PoM that see much use in PvP builds) are never present in these builds. 33Fire/18Arcane http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=oV0E0zbZVgGzf0ut 18/33/0 This is a standard fire build going all the way down to the Tier 7 talent including Impact for some limited kiting help. It’s geared toward instances, since the Improved Scorch talent is considered worthless in PvP. Scorch is used for sustained DPS and crits, with Pyroblast being used as an opener along with Combustion. Successful crits will allow Ignite to stack, leading to what’s called rolling ignites. It’s quite devastating and can quickly burn down mobs. A Fire build that also allows for Presence of Mind from the Arcane tree. This talent can be used in combination with Pyroblast or Flamestrike for some good instant cast damage. And instant castPolymorph or Frostbolt can also be useful in many situations. Many fire mages prefer Presence of Mind over Combustion. 31Arcane/20Fire http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=oi0EoRfouVgGzb 31/20/0 This build relies on Presence of Mind, Pyroblast and Arcane Power for the win. It allows for some incredible burst damage. 24 Fire/27 Frost http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=RZVgGzb0uZVVMcobth 0/24/27 A powerful PvP elementalist build. Scorch, Fire Blast, and Frostbolt are used for single target damage. Polymorph followed by Pyroblast is a good opener, and Frost Nova followed by Cone of Cold or Blastwave is devastating in AoE situations. The three point in Ice Shards can be moved around in the first three tiers of Frost. Frostbite, Elemental Precision, and Improved Blizzard are all good choices, and allow for some customization. I personally use a 3/3 Frostbite variant, but that’s because I’m a former Frost/Arcane Mage who likes his snares, especially off Ice Armor. 17 Arcane/31 Fire/3 Frost http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=kf0E00MZxgMzfzut0h 17/31/3 This is probably the most powerful PvE raiding DPS spec. Increased chance to hit from the Frost Tree, all the best DPS talents focused on improving Fireball from the Fire Tree, the powerful Combustion for jump starting rolling ignites, and the mana conservation talents of the Arcane Tree. Most mages with this build will stack Imp. Scorch 5 times on a boss, then use Fireball, switching back to Scorch to refresh the Scorch debuff (after casting 8-9 Fireballs). If your raid has a dedicated Imp. Scorch debuffer already, the 3 points in Imp. Scorch may be placed elsewhere, usually in Master of the Elements for even more mana conservation, or in Impact or Improved Fire Blast. This build is extremely effective in conserving mana even while using the mage's top DPS skill, Fireball. It should be noted that this is a pure PvE build, as for PvP Elemental Precision becomes somewhat worthless, and as a result it is better to lose Combustion for the far more PvP orientated Presence of Mind. =Talent calculators= Category:Guides Category:Mages